How To Make Cappuccino

Cappuccino can be quite expensive to buy everyday at the coffee shop, but you can make yours at home for much less. In Italy, cappuccino is generally only served with breakfast, but in the United States, it is the perfect drink for any time of the day. Cappuccino is a mix of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam.

Step 1

Ingredients and supplies:

Ground coffee

3 ounces of milk

Ground chocolate, cinnamon, or nutmeg (optional)

Espresso machine

Cold carafe

Cup

Spoon

Step 2

Make the espresso. Make 1 1/2 ounces of espresso in your espresso machine, leaving enough water in the machine to steam some milk. It should take 1 spoonful of coffee to make a shot of espresso for your drink. Then, pour the espresso into the bottom of your cup. An espresso machine is a good investment if you drink a lot of coffee-based drinks.

Step 3

Steam the milk. Set the espresso machine to steam and steam 3 ounces of cold milk. To steam the milk, fill a chilled carafe 1/3 full of milk. You will get better foam by using full-fat milk in a carafe that is cold. Then place the steam nozzle halfway down into the milk, leaving it in for 45 seconds to a minute, until the milk is hot and you have enough foam for your preference. Be careful when steaming the milk, as the steam is very hot and can burn you.

Step 4

Add steamed milk to the cappuccino. Next, pour an ounce and a half of steamed milk to your espresso. Hold back the foam with a spoon. Then, spoon some of the foam onto the top. You can add a thick layer of foam, or just a little as a garnish. One of the best advantages to making cappuccino at home is that you can make it exactly how you like it. Traditionally, a cappuccino is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 foam, but you can vary these ratios to your tastes. If you like the espresso more than the milk, you can also start with your steamed milk and foam, pouring your shot of espresso on the top.

Step 5

Personalize your drink. Finally, sprinkle the cappuccino with ground chocolate, cinnamon, or nutmeg for a special treat. You can also drizzle chocolate syrup over the milk foam. Enjoy!

Making the perfect cappuccino at home can definitely be done, but it takes practice. The frothed milk should be microfoam (very fine foam, where the bubbles are not visible to the eye), but this can be difficult to accomplish without experience. To make a good cappuccino, also make sure to start with good quality espresso and milk. If you just can't start your day without a cappuccino, try making it at home! It may sound difficult to make, but actually it's fairly easy.